The Oakland Raiders have plenty of questions heading into the offseason and quarterback is one of them, as Terrelle Pryor could move in a trade to a team like the Philadelphia Eagles or Buffalo Bills, while free agents like Darren McFadden, Lamarr Houston and Jared Veldheer could be in line to get hit with the franchise tag.
Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen have some major questions to tackle heading into the offseason and free agency and starting Monday they can take care of one of those with the franchise tag. According to ESPN.com, McFadden is very unlikely to get the tag and he will be allowed to test the market in free agency, while Veldheer and Houston are the top candidates to get it from the team. The Raiders are projected to have the most cap space this offseason with over $60 million and this comes after McKenzie has systematically broken down the roster over the past two seasons.
Allen kept his job after owner Mark Davis met with him soon after the season and that was a smart move, as he was not fully to blame for breaking down the roster like the team did. McKenzie was tasked to do that and he got rid of a number of bad contracts and that resulted in two 4-12 seasons in a row. The team has a top 10 draft pick again and they could use that for a young quarterback like Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater or Blake Bortles, or they could look to the free agent market for names like Michael Vick, Matt Cassel or Josh Freeman.
The franchise tag can be used by teams leading into March 3 and that deadline comes before the March 11 date when free agency starts. Veldheer is the top player to keep an eye on as free agency hits, as he could be in line to get the franchise tag after being a third round pick in 2010 and he is considered to be a foundational part of the offensive line. Last season Veldheer played in just five games after dealing with an injury on his triceps, but he is expected to be fully healthy for training camp this summer and he said that he would like to stay in Oakland long term. Houston has played well since joining the Raiders and he had six sacks last season and 56 solo tackles and ESPN.com writer Paul Gutierrez that he is the priority for the team to sign.
The Raiders want to be strong up front and over this season Houston had the most quarterback hurries with Cameron Wake in the league with 41 and he is young at 25 years old and could be a player to build the defense with. Houston set a career high in sacks this season and had four in the first seven games of the season before getting the next two down the line. The Raiders likely would rather use the tag on Houston over Veldheer, as the number for lineman this year is at $11.126 million.
